Israel - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Israel cover image

Israel

July 27, 2026

Tel Aviv 8:05 pm

29°C

JEWEL SAMAD/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Why US carriers unlikely to rush back to Beirut as Trump lifts Lebanon flight ban

The White House is set to allow US airlines to fly to Beirut for the first time in decades, but experts say the move is more about politics than planes as Washington creates new openings for Lebanon's battered economy.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Ahead of Trump meeting, Netanyahu lays groundwork for Israel to rejoin Iran war

Reports of an Iranian espionage ring and nuclear centrifuges movement could help Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu make the case to the Israeli public and Donald Trump to rejoin the war, ahead of a critical election in October.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Latest News

Explainer

As Turkey rivalry heats up, Greece to acquire $4B Israeli air defense system

David's Sling.

Trump says Saudi nuclear deal 'totally subject' to Israel normalization

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Israel fears US deal would allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium

US President Donald Trump (R) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands as they arrive to speak to journalists during a joint press conference at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, on Dec. 29, 2025.

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Jack Dutton

Chief Business Correspondent

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Ben Caspit

Israel Columnist

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Rina Bassist

Associate Editor (Israel)

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Israeli Prime Minister and Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu gestures during a meeting with party members at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, on January 30, 2017. / AFP / MENAHEM KAHANA (Photo credit should read MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images)

Knesset’s summer session ends in disgrace

A vicious debate in the Knesset over the nationality bill guarantees further turbulence into the fall.

Palestinian men pray outside the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City July 26, 2017. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RTX3CYQ1

Fatah leverages Temple Mount crisis to confront Israel

Israel is concerned over Fatah officials' call for continued mass protests stemming from recent events at the Temple Mount.

Palestinian Christians, Muslims come together over Al-Aqsa protests

Palestinian Christians are participating alongside Muslims in demonstrations and sit-ins in Jerusalem in a show of solidarity for their cause.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) attends the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem July 23, 2017. REUTERS/Abir Sultan/Pool - RTX3CK7R

Netanyahu's power drunk government

Instead of listening to Israel’s security experts, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu keeps provoking the Palestinians and escalating tensions.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a joint declaration with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, July 16, 2017. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe - RTX3BO02

Netanyahu's scandals run deep

The many scandals directly or indirectly involving Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, coupled with media criticism over his handling of the Temple Mount crisis, are seriously destabilizing his administration.

Israeli security forces remove metal detectors which were recently installed at an entrance to the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City July 25, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX3CRDA

Israelis quick to forgive Netanyahu for latest security debacle

While most Israelis are unhappy with the way that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu handled the Temple Mount crisis, they also believe that he was right to install the metal detectors there.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem July 23, 2017. REUTERS/Abir Sultan/Pool - RTX3CK7H

Netanyahu's dangerous delusion

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the right remain under the delusion that they can sustain the occupation at no cost to Israel.

Palestinians shout slogans during a protest over Israel's new security measures at the compound housing al-Aqsa mosque, known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City July 20, 2017. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RTX3C765

Al-Aqsa protests unite Jerusalemites

The Palestinians of Jerusalem collaborated to keep the protests against Israel’s restrictions at Al-Aqsa Mosque ongoing.

Bedouin women sit next to their makeshift home on November 22, 2016 in the village of Umm Al-Hiran village, which is not recognized by the Israeli government, near the southern city of Beersheba in the Negev desert.
In May 2015, Israel's Supreme Court approved the removal of 750-1,000 Bedouin residents from Umm al-Hiran to enable the construction of a Jewish town. According to Human Rights Watch, the villagers say they were expelled from their land in 1948, when the state of Israel was established, and whil

Israel sees Bedouin polygamy as security threat

Some Israeli Bedouin men continue to practice polygamy, in part to milk state benefits, but some worry the practice is creating a security threat.

Workers pass art work by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei titled "Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn" (2016) which is made with Lego bricks on the eve of the opening of his new exhibition "Maybe, Maybe Not" at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem on June 1, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / THOMAS COEX / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY MENTION OF THE ARTIST UPON PUBLICATION - TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTION (Photo credit should read THOMAS COEX/AFP/Getty Images)

Ai Weiwei highlights survival in Jerusalem exhibition

Ai Weiwei’s first exhibition at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, “Maybe, Maybe Not,” features iron trees, hand-painted seeds and a tribute to a tiger who was in the Khan Yunis zoo.

A Palestinian youth is detained by an Israeli border police officer during scuffles that erupted after Palestinians held prayers just outside Jerusalem's Old City in protest over the installation of metal detectors placed at an entrance to the Old City's compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount July 17, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RTX3BRG6

Netanyahu's rash decision on Temple Mount sparks speculation

Is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu letting the Temple Mount crisis simmer to deflect attention from the scandals swirling around him?

Brine water flows into the Mediterranean Sea after passing through a desalination plant in the coastal city of Hadera May 16, 2010. An Israeli consortium unveiled the world's largest reverse osmosis desalination plant on Sunday in Hadera, hoping to help alleviate the arid country's water shortage. REUTERS/Nir Elias (ISRAEL - Tags: ENVIRONMENT POLITICS BUSINESS) - RTR2DYHU

Israeli-Palestinian water pact raises hopes, suspicions

Israelis and Palestinians have reached a water supply agreement, though some worry such economic deals might become a poor substitute for a true peace settlement.